Dr. Enid Slack
Director
The Director of the Institute is Dr. Enid Slack, one of Canada's foremost experts in municipal finance. Enid has been working in this field for over 35 years and is respected nationally and internationally for her research on property taxes and other aspects of municipal finance. Enid is an Adjunct Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Richard M. Bird
Senior Fellow
Dr. Richard M. Bird is professor emeritus in the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and Senior Fellow of the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. His research interests include tax policy and administration, local and regional finance, and intergovernmental fiscal relations.
Bill Hughes
Senior Fellow
Bill Hughes is a Senior Fellow at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. He has over 35 years of experience in finance and public policy at both the provincial and municipal levels of government. Bill’s research and policy interests include municipal financial sustainability, demographics, urban economics, the impact of planning policy on municipal finance, and the economics of water policy.
Joe Pennachetti
Senior Fellow
Joe Pennachetti is Senior Fellow at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. He has over 35 years of municipal financial management experience. As the Toronto City Manager from 2008 to 2015, Joe was responsible for 37,000 staff, an operating budget of $12 billion, and a $30 billion 10 year capital plan.
Dr. Alexandra Flynn
Fellow
Alexandra Flynn is Assistant Professor in the City Studies program at the University of Toronto (Scarborough). She teaches and researches in the areas of urban governance and local government law. Alexandra has over ten years of experience as a lawyer in Vancouver representing First Nations and as a senior policy official at the City of Toronto where she focused on intergovernmental relations.
Dr. Aaron A. Moore
Fellow
Dr. Aaron A. Moore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, at the University of Winnipeg, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of City Planning, at the University of Manitoba. Aaron was formerly an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo. He received his Doctorate degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in 2009.
Dr. Zack Taylor
Fellow
Dr. Zack Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Western University, where he teaches and researches on comparative urban political economy, regional planning and governance, local government and finance, and local public administration. He is also a non-practicing Registered Professional Planner in Ontario.
Matthew Lesch
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Matthew Lesch is the 2017-2018 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, and a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University. He will be completing his Ph.D. this fall in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Matthew also holds an MA from the University of British Columbia and a BA (Hons.) from the University of Western Ontario. His research specializes in the study of comparative public policy. His main research interests include fiscal policy, taxation, environmental policy, policy learning and cognition, policy feedback effects, and policy diffusion.
Selena Zhang
Manager, Programs and Research
Selena Zhang is the IMFG Manager, Programs and Research. She has led research and managed projects for local governments and non-profits in Canada and internationally. Selena has a background in public policy and global development, and holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Toronto.
Elisa Tate
Administrator
Elisa Tate is the IMFG Administrator. Elisa holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Book and Media Studies and Writing and Rhetoric from the University of Toronto and a Master of Information in Critical Information Policy Studies from the University of Toronto-Faculty of Information. Elisa has organized educational conferences and research projects as a Research Assistant for the University of Toronto.